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GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Single Step Debugger19-Jun-23 2:59
Single Step Debugger19-Jun-23 2:59 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Mark Starr19-Jun-23 3:00
professionalMark Starr19-Jun-23 3:00 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Matt Bond19-Jun-23 7:22
Matt Bond19-Jun-23 7:22 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Arthur Humphrey19-Jun-23 10:32
Arthur Humphrey19-Jun-23 10:32 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
jkirkerx19-Jun-23 8:13
professionaljkirkerx19-Jun-23 8:13 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Jeremy Falcon19-Jun-23 12:19
professionalJeremy Falcon19-Jun-23 12:19 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises Pin
Jeremy Falcon19-Jun-23 12:18
professionalJeremy Falcon19-Jun-23 12:18 
GeneralRe: Yearly Raises - Meant for anyone here, just sharing what I learned over time. Pin
jkirkerx19-Jun-23 14:01
professionaljkirkerx19-Jun-23 14:01 
Intended for everyone who's interested ...

I've been studying money since I got on board with Dave Ramsey to get debt free, and then moved on to economics, or the study of how economies work, and then how money works, and finally investing in stocks and bonds for over a 10 year period now. And I've been reading many books on related subjects, the last being Rich Dad Poor Dad, and currently reading Cash Flow Quadrant by Robert Kiyosaki. I believe in "Pay myself first", which is too study subjects outside of my career, for at least 1 hour a day, more later.

The books sort of say; off the top of my head, and this may end up being sort of a mashup of thoughts not clearly expressed by me, because I don't want to offend anyone, but here goes...

W2 earners are told to learn a skill and be the best at it with high grades, they graduate and get that nice job with great pay and annual pay raises, and that W2 earner starts a family, buys a house, furniture, and appliances, next the car, and finances all of the purchases. You can do that on the cheap, so you have lots of money left over to invest for retirement or to make investments, or you can do that on the expensive, and leave little money left over to save and invest. The difference between the two ends up being refereed to as life style inflation. Often when one gets a raise, their Federal and State Tax liabilities go up as well, so they talk to a "money specialist", which often says buy a bigger house for the tax deduction, and once again the Life Style inflation goes up even higher, since your property tax will increase as well. When the W2 earner realizes that they don't make enough money to support that level of life style anymore, they seek a raise, or call it an "increase in wages earned", and the process starts all over again.

This is mine, not from the book...
Software people sometimes get too involved in honing their skills, taking it to a higher level to stay competitive in the market. At some point in time, software people need to study other subjects, such as financial literacy, where they learn the accounting side of life, and then take that knowledge to re balance their priorities, such as life style, retirement, and learn how to invest in themselves, or how to use excess cash to invest in assets, so that "You don't work for money, money works for you". Dave Ramsey, whether you like him or not, taught me to sit down and map out my expenses or liabilities, reduce spending, and pay my debt faster with the savings I created over years. After paying off my debt, I had all this free or excess cash, and was able to start investing in assets that make me money 24/7. Your financial security is not only your employer, but really starts with us as an individual, by paying ourselves first and learning how to create it.

Sure you can find a better employer right now, while the markets are hot, but you have to do the math first. The math being if I take this job that pays $250K in San Francisco, I'll be rich, But it cost so much to live there, that $250K there is like $80K somewhere else. Or how much it cost to commute to work in time, auto and energy, versus working closer for less pay. Often taking a pay cut to work closer to home is like getting a raise, and when the math is done, and you pay less in taxes as well. Dave Ramsey forces one who embraces to do the math, and you get to the point where you know all the math, and can execute very fast, constantly making the correct decisions towards some sort of financial freedom.

I wrote this, because it's the other half of my other post on this subject. I'm not an expert, and don't claim to be, but IMO, if you want to compete and get ahead, then one needs to pay themselves first. This is one of the reasons why I haven't been here much lately, because I need to pay myself first and learn how to be finally literate. So I study the stock market now, and work my investments.
If it ain't broke don't fix it
Discover my world at jkirkerx.com

GeneralSmaller, better, faster, more Pin
honey the codewitch16-Jun-23 20:57
mvahoney the codewitch16-Jun-23 20:57 
GeneralRe: Smaller, better, faster, more Pin
Southmountain17-Jun-23 10:53
Southmountain17-Jun-23 10:53 
GeneralRe: Smaller, better, faster, more Pin
honey the codewitch17-Jun-23 12:44
mvahoney the codewitch17-Jun-23 12:44 
GeneralWordle 728 Pin
Sandeep Mewara16-Jun-23 18:11
mveSandeep Mewara16-Jun-23 18:11 
GeneralRe: Wordle 728 Pin
OriginalGriff16-Jun-23 18:37
mveOriginalGriff16-Jun-23 18:37 
GeneralRe: Wordle 728 - woo hoo 2 for me Pin
pkfox16-Jun-23 21:38
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GeneralRe: Wordle 728 - woo hoo 2 for me Pin
OriginalGriff16-Jun-23 21:50
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GeneralRe: Wordle 728 - woo hoo 2 for me Pin
pkfox16-Jun-23 21:53
professionalpkfox16-Jun-23 21:53 
GeneralRe: Wordle 728 - woo hoo 2 for me too 2/6 Pin
jmaida17-Jun-23 15:11
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GeneralRe: Wordle 728 Pin
Amarnath S17-Jun-23 0:00
professionalAmarnath S17-Jun-23 0:00 
GeneralRe: Wordle 728 Pin
StarNamer@work17-Jun-23 0:08
professionalStarNamer@work17-Jun-23 0:08 
GeneralRe: Wordle 728 Pin
Cp-Coder17-Jun-23 1:23
Cp-Coder17-Jun-23 1:23 
Generala rookie question about GitHub Pin
Southmountain16-Jun-23 6:50
Southmountain16-Jun-23 6:50 
GeneralRe: a rookie question about GitHub Pin
PIEBALDconsult16-Jun-23 7:12
mvePIEBALDconsult16-Jun-23 7:12 
GeneralRe: a rookie question about GitHub Pin
RickZeeland16-Jun-23 7:59
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GeneralRe: a rookie question about GitHub Pin
Southmountain17-Jun-23 7:42
Southmountain17-Jun-23 7:42 
GeneralRe: a rookie question about GitHub PinPopular
Mircea Neacsu16-Jun-23 9:34
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